


When Actions Will Do

by AkisMusicBox



Category: Persona 3
Genre: AkiHam Week 2020, Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Blood, F/M, Ficlet, Ficlet Collection, Free day, Future children - Freeform, Toddler, Volleyball, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:13:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23285326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkisMusicBox/pseuds/AkisMusicBox
Summary: A series of ficlets written for #akihamweek! It's my self-indulgent way to play with different AUs and timeskips :D
Relationships: Arisato Minako/Sanada Akihiko
Comments: 24
Kudos: 59
Collections: AkiHam Week 2020





	1. Family/Children: Drained

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first ficlet exists in the [Miki Lives AU! ](https://twitter.com/TataBanchou/status/1165274165827518465)

Minako was washing dishes in the kitchen when she spied Akihiko attempting to creep by her. His white shirt was unbuttoned, red undershirt half-tucked. A gloved hand clenched the strap of his workout bag.

"Where do you think you're going, Sanada-senpai?" she scolded. "You were all but drained yesterday in Tartarus. You need to rest."

He turned to her and wrinkled his nose. "I'm fine. No Shadow's going to try and get me while I'm at the gym."

"Nope, just your own hubris," she said, drying her hands on a towel. "Recovery's important. You can take a day off."

He shook his head and turned. She darted around the counter and grabbed his arm. "What are you doing? Any other time you'd have joked if I was going to cook you dinner to make you stay."

"Not hungry." He tried to tug his arm away. Her grip tightened. He stared at the door. "My sister and I were supposed to have dinner tonight. Every month, I take her out and we eat nothing but sweets. But... my adoptive parents sent her to boarding school. She's in Kyoto now."

Her stomach plunged. Her grip loosened, but she didn't let go. "Senpai... can you wait here for a moment? I need to grab my purse."

He finally looked at her, giving her a curious look. She smiled. "I'm more of the expert in desserts, anyway. So it should be my treat." She gave his arm a quick squeeze and then let go.

A hint of a smile crossed his face. "I guess I'll need to put this way, then, too." He ran his thumb along the strap of his bag. His expression softened. "Guess I need to put this back in my room then." He smiled. "Deal."


	2. Dorm Life/Gifts: Fear the Deer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been playing a VERY SPECIFIC VIDEO GAME LATELY and recommending it to everyone. Of COURSE I'm gonna make my faves play it, too.

Akihiko thought that he was the only one left in the dorms, but soon found himself mistaken. Between strikes on the bag, he could hear swearing from the floor above him. The voice behind the expletives was unmistakable as well, so he abandoned his room and made his way to the third floor. Only when he was faced with Minako's door did he realize her sweaty upperclassmen should not be trying to enter her room.

"I'll have your head on a pike!" she growled in a tone he'd never head outside of Tartars.

He tapped on the door. "Arisato?"

A moment later, the door opened and he found her in baggy sweatpants and a shirt that was nearly falling off of her shoulders. "Senpai?"

His ears started to burn. He pointed to the controller clutched in her hand. "You're playing video games! R-right, that explains it."

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I didn't think anyone else was here. I didn't mean to disturb your workout."

"It's okay. But I mean, what're you getting so worked up over?"

"Lysithea keeps dying," she grumbled. He gave her a blank stare.

"Would you like to join me, senpai?" she asked. "I mean, I'd offer to train with you but my back's still aching from straining it the other day."

_Strained it because she had to save me,_ he thought. _But that means I should focus on my own training._

Before he could say that, she added, "It's a strategy game! So it's kind of like training."

She opened the door wider, and the sight of her disheveled pink bedspread made him take a step back. "I can't go into a girl's bedroom."

She raised an eyebrow. "Only people with impure intentions should be worried about things like that."

He panicked and crossed the threshold. She smiled wide and shoved the controller in his hands. "That's a dirty trick!" he growled.

She put a hand on her heart. "Claude would be so proud of me. Grab the chair at my desk, senpai, and let's get to playing."

He sighed. _At least she didn't make me sit on her bed._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And for anyone out of the loop, it's Fire Emblem: Three Houses! Strategy blended beautifully with relationship building. Play the game, watch the gameplay, doesn't matter, just come join the Golden Deer house!


	3. Late Night/Early Mornings, Travel: Call Daddy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very loosely define future AU! Akihiko is out of town for a work conference and Minako is home with their 2.5 year old daughter, Yakumo.

"Daddy?" Yakumo whined from her bed as she clutched her bear. "Where's Daddy?"

"Work," Minako said for the hundredth time that day. "At a conference. He'll be home in three days."

"No!" the toddler barked, thrashing and tangling her brunette locks. She glared with piercing grey eyes. "Daddy!"

"If you go to bed, it will only be two more days when you wake up," Minako said as she rummaged through her toy bin. "Here." She gave Yakumo her rabbit doll, which she squeezed next to the bear.

"Call Daddy on da phone!" she pouted. "Phone!"

Minako sighed. "We already tried, Yakumo he -"

"Call Daddy!" she yelled as she flailed her arms.

Minako gritted her teeth. "Good night, little one. Do you want a story before bedtime?"

"Daddy, home, now!"

_If I could, I would! Don't you get that?!_

"Can I have a hug?" Minako leaned over her daughter's bed. Yakumo kicked her in the chest.

"Good night," Minako said as evenly as she could and left. She closed the door behind her and slipped into the kitchen. Hearing the screaming and crying over the baby monitor did not dull the pain that it stabbed into her. She checked her phone. He still hadn't called back. A tear rolled down her cheek. She uncorked a bottle of wine and made it halfway through a glass before the crying subsided. She finished her second before her phone rang.

She answered the video call. He swore when he saw her expression. "I'm sorry, dear." He ran his hand over goatee. "Tomorrow, I promise, I won't miss bedtime."

She rubbed her eyes. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Minako," he said softly.

"Sorry. I'm not trying to be... she just had a bad day. Nothing I did was right." The ache in her heart only intensified at the admission.

"I'm sorry. She'll feel better in the morning." He nodded vehemently. "Listen, Chief approved my vacation."

Her mood brightened. "Really? A whole week?"

"A whole week," he said with a smile. "Now we just have to plan the damn thing. And get you a massage, wherever it is."

"Right," she chuckled. "So tell me, how was the conference today?"

He rolled his eyes. "Same stuff, different day. Not nearly as good as being with you two."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I picked the name Yakumo because I've just finished my 7,387th rewatch of School Rumble! Do you need some silliness mixed with sweetness in your life? THEN WATCH IT WATCH IT WATCH IT!


	4. Free Day: The Question

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh, a non-AU! And a very general interpretation of "Free Day", for sure.

Akihiko watched Minako curiously as his noodles heated in the microwave. She stared at the dining room ceiling and groaned. "Senpai, I'm so bored."

Reflexively, he quipped, "Only boring people are bored."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "I have nothing to do. You banned me from training -"

"Your wrist is hurt," he retorted quickly as the microwaved dinged.

"I'm caught up on my homework," She ticked off on her bound hand. "Exams aren't for a month. Supplies are already prepped for Tartarus. I already have seen the movie at the theater. Bookstore's closed. Aragaki-senpai has Koromaru..."

Akihiko stirred his steaming cup with a fork. "I get it, I get it." _Is that how I sound?_ "You've got a free day. What do you want to do?"

She looked up and cocked an eyebrow at him. "I don't understand your question."

The implication curdled his stomach. He was the one who asked her to be in charge just so he could focus on his self-improvement. When he hesitated to respond, she continued, "What are you gonna do today?"

He swallowed. "Go for a run" was the truth, but it felt cruel to leave her like this. "Go... clothes shopping. Dress clothes for scholarship interviews." _Girls like clothes, right?_ "I could use a girl's opinion."

That was a bald-faced lie. He had one suit that he wore for all major events. Not that there had been many in his life, but it kept the suit in good shape. But her expression had brightened so much that he couldn't possibly dim it.

She grinned. "I have plenty of those! I'll go get my coat!" She bolted up from her chair and charged up the stairs.

Only then did he realize he had just invited the girl who twisted his stomach into knots to stare at his body all day. _I am not a smart man._ He threw the cup of noodles in the trash.


	5. First Aid/Confessions: Love Languages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: blood and Akihiko being a bit of a butthead

_This is a mistake_ he thought to himself as he stood in the front row of the boy's side of the volleyball court. Things had started off innocently enough -- the junior boys had challenged the volleyball club to a friendly match. He had been passing by with his team after boxing practice to see Junpei missing a block entirely and Minako passing out high fives to her teammates. They decided to stay and watch, and then, somehow, he opened his big mouth and said that while the ladies were skilled, men were stronger. "It's just biology," he said.

She had cocked her head slightly to the side, a light sheen of sweat coating her face. Her bangs were starting to cling to it. "Weird hill you want to die on, Senpai. At least you dug the grave yourself." She pointed to the court. Junpei happily sacrificed his spot to Akihiko.

He couldn't deny being curious about what it'd be like to spar with her, but she wasn't a boxer, so he never asked. She'd never agree to turn one of her Personas on him -- she'd likely pick an ice-based once just to teach him a lesson. So, maybe, him talking a bunch of nonsense about biological advantages in gender was his way of getting her to challenge him. But it couldn't matter what the "maybes" actually were because once he took his place on the court, she strode over to Iwasaki and whispered something in her hear. Iwasaki nodded and switch her from back middle to front left. Right in front of him. She narrowed her eyes, pointed to them, then pointed to him.

His stomach dropped.

It was the boys turn to serve, so Miyamoto sent it over the net to the girls. In a matter of moments, the ball was bumped and then set, as if from a textbook example.

Set up for Minako to spike it directly at him. He couldn't get his hands up in time and his face exploded in pain. He fell to the ground and clutched his nose. The gymnasium gasp in sympathy, and before he was able to see straight, Iwasaki and Minako were crouched over him. Minako was pressing a towel to cheek before he realized he was bleeding. She was saying things that he struggled to hear over the ringing in his ears, but her expression seemed to say, "I'm sorry."

"Worst love confession ever," he thought he heard Iwasaki say.

"Just go get the ice!" Minako growled, and Iwasaki darted away.

"What?" he said, trying to focus on her. "What did she say?"

"Nothing!" she yelped, turning bright red. "Quit moving." She cupped his face with one hand while continuing to clean the blood.

_Oh. Oh..._ "The guy you love shouldn't walk into your gym and talk shit," he managed. She stopped dabbing his face and gave him a wild look. Her hand trembled. The words spilled out of him before his brain could process them. "Especially if he loves you back."

She pulled his face into hers and kiss him ferociously. The taste of his own blood mingled with the electricity on his lips. Another gasp sounded around the gym, of a whole different tone.


	6. Seasons/Games: Progress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby Yakumo has grown up in this fic! Cue the moody preteen.

"One more, baby girl, strike 'em out!" her father cheered from the bleachers. It took all of Yakumo's willpower to not cover her face with her baseball glove.

He had arrived late to the game, again, so he was still in a suit and tie from work. Despite being dressed better than the rest of the spectators, he proved to be the rowdiest, earning looks of disapproval. She looked to her mother, standing in the dugout. Her mother narrowed her bright red eyes, an expression that was always accompanied by the phrase, "Play your game. No one else's."

She took a deep breath and pitched the ball. Before the batter could even blink, it drilled securely in the catcher's mitt. The umpire called, "That's three!" and the team trotted back to the dugout.

Uncle Junpei patted Yakumo on the shoulder. "Way to go, killer!"

"Thanks, Coach," she said before finding a seat on the bench. Her mother found a seat next to her and Yakumo rolled her eyes. "He's being obnoxious because he's late. Like that's gonna make up for it."

Her mother chuckled. "Would you believe that your father used to be terrible at expressing his emotions? When he confessed to me it was the strangest combination of aggressive and timid I'd ever seen."

She gave her mother an incredulous look. "Nah. Don't believe it."

She nodded vehemently. "It took him years to get better at expressing himself. And then, when we had you, ever little bit of progress you made was just incredible. To see someone go from just a bundle of flailing limbs to holding your own bottle, eating your first apple, wiping your own bottom when you used the potty..."

"Mom!" she scolded.

Her mother only grinned. "I have many days I consider the 'best', but it's hard to beat you wiping your own bottom. Seriously, everything you do is amazing to him because he's got to see it unfold. He was always about 'progress' growing up, but he never really celebrated it. Gave it the respect it deserved." Her expression softened. "And he never wants to give you a reason to doubt that he's proud of you."

Yakumo looked over her shoulder. When she spotted her dad, he grinned and waved. She thought for a moment she could see the youthful side of her father that her mom probably fell for. She turned back to her mother. "Does he always have to be such a dork, though?"

"Absolutely. The 'how' changes, but it's a constant undercurrent of dork. You're half-dork, ya know." Mom shrugged.

Yakumo covered her face with her mitt.


	7. Scars/Fears: Wanna See?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's finish by trying a new college AU! Main points: 
> 
>   * Shadows don't exist! 
>   * SEES was created as a branch of the student council. Low-key goal was actually to put people who were at-risk to become troublemakers/start failing their classes (for orphans, broken families, ect.) 
>   * Minato and Minako never transferred to Gekkoukan 
>   * After high school, Akihiko became Mitsuru's personal bodyguard 
>   * Minato and Minako just transferred to the same university as most of the old memers of SEES 
>   * Today is the first day of classes! 
> 


"Stop staring," Shinjiro chided as Akihiko watched a girl with brunette hair and vibrant red eyes entered the bar.

"I -- I'm not staring!" Akihiko grumbled, turning back to the counter. He grabbed his beer and started worrying at the label.

"Oh, I talked to her in class yesterday!" Junpei said. "Name's Minako Arisato, just transferred here." He winked. "Means she's gotta be single. Time to jump on it!"

"No way!" Akihiko stammered. "She's probably beat, getting adjusted and stuff like that."

"Get your shit together, Aki, she's coming this way." Shinjiro elbowed him.

Akihiko turned abruptly to the empty stool next to him. Arisato sidled in looking for the bartender.

"Arisato-san, good to see you!" Junpei called. Akihiko gave him a quick glare before the girl turned.

"Hi, Iori-san!" she said with a quick smile. "Who are your friends?"

"Sanada and Aragaki," he said. Shinjiro spared her a quick wave.

"N-nice to meet you!" Akihiko said.

The girl spared another grin before looking down the packed bar and giving a wave to the bartender. He noticed a small scar on her wrist, horizontal along the back of it.

"Where'd you get that scar?" Akihiko asked as her proximity made his stomach flutter. _She smells like oranges._

She furrowed her brow before she stared at her own arm. "Oh, that! Baking accident. Reached too far in and bumped a grate."

"You're a baker?" he asked.

Almost amused, she said, "Yep. Big fan of sweets."

"I -- I've got some scars too, wanna see?"

Her expression went blank. "No, thanks." She turned to look for the bartender.

Akihiko smacked his forehead. "Sorry! That was rude. Too forward. It -- it's just a good story about how I got them!"

She turned back and raised an eyebrow. "Tell the story first."

His ears burned. "I worked as a bodyguard for a few years! A lot of traveling in wild places. And my boss wanted to take a hike in Alaska, and we found a bear cub, and well, the momma bear didn't appreciate it."

Her other eyebrow raised as well. "You didn't get attacked by a bear." It wasn't a question. It made him wonder if she was thinking that he was too attractive to have survived a bear attack. He hoped it did.

"I did!" He pulled out his phone and a few clicks later pulled up an album. "That's my boss, well, we were friends in high school. Here's the trail we were hiking on, here's the cub, and here's... well, sorry, that's me in the hospital."

She furrowed her brow. "Friend or not, your boss is terrible."

He balked. "No way! And, 'was', I resigned after that, but she's paying for my tuition!"

She bit her lip. "I don't know if I believe you." She turned around and tapped a thin, blue-haired boy in the stool next to her. "Dear brother, is he full of shit or not?"

The boy turned and smirked. "He's too stupid to come up with a lie like that. Gotta be true."

"Hey!" Akihiko snapped, burying his nerves. _Her brother was here the whole time?_

Arisato cocked her head. "What makes a guy who gets in brawls with bears go to college?"

"Well... well seeing your life flash before your eyes and realizing the only thing you've ever been good at is hitting things makes you think. And I thought I wanted to be something more." Apparently, being surprised like that made him more honest.

Her brother snorted. "Sappy, but true."

Arisato held a hand up to halt her brother. Her gaze softened. "Fair enough. If you can flag me down a drink, I'll chat with you while I drink it."

"Right!" He turned to find the bartender but then panicked. "Uh, what... what do you like to drink?"

Amused, she asked, "What do you think girls like to drink?"

He swallowed. "Well - well Mitsuru likes red wine, but I think... I think..." He bit his lip. "Gin?"

She grinned. "Good answer. Wrong, for most, but dead-on for this one."


End file.
